Document solutions
Why document solutions matter
Some document projects become difficult both because of how they look and the complexity behind them. Large volumes, inconsistent source material, tight deadlines, or data that needs to be reused accurately across hundreds of files can quickly overwhelm internal teams. Without a clear structure or repeatable process, documents become error-prone, hard to update, and expensive to maintain. A considered document solution brings order to that complexity, making documents reliable, consistent, and sustainable over time.
How we approach document solutions
Our work sits at the point where document design and technical problem-solving overlap. Alongside strong graphic design skills, our team has a detailed understanding of Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud. This allows us to build robust templates, automate repetitive tasks, and move structured data reliably between applications when needed. Sometimes the answer is careful document design, sometimes automation, and often a combination of both. The aim is always a practical solution that works in the real world and can be repeated with confidence.
Case studies
Market Research Company | 200 client reports from Excel spreadsheets
The problem: A market intelligence company was conducting keyword-driven product research for their client and were committed to a tight schedule. The feedback would be 200 Word documents, one per product, each fully compliant with a rigorous style guide. Paragraphs of market analysis would be backed up by tables of data extracted from Excel spreadsheets that would not be finalized until close to the deadline. Without the time or resources to complete the task, the research company turned to us.
The solution: Our objective was to find the most reliable and cost-effective method of creating a professional document that matched the required specification and also incorporated built-in checks to ensure that the spreadsheet data had been reproduced faithfully. Armed with the style guide, some sample spreadsheets and an outline of the required report, one of our designers developed a provisional Word template. With many large tables to include it was important to focus on the table formatting to ensure the document would be easy to read but not too long. Meanwhile our in-house technical team built a workflow to populate the Word template from Excel spreadsheets. The code also validated each spreadsheet to ensure that the expected columns were present and in the correct order. The provisional template was soon approved. When the spreadsheets became available we validated and processed them to create the 200 separate Word files within a couple of days. Our customer was given access to each report on Dropbox, as soon as it became available.
The outcome: The reports were delivered on time. Six weeks later our customer was asked to extend the research and we received an additional 50 Excel spreadsheets which were processed and returned within a day. This project had a highly customized brief with a tight deadline but, by combining our design and formatting skills with our ability to construct cost-effective workflows, we were able to offer a solution that delivered on-time and within our customer's budget.
Oil & Gas Engineering Services Company | Process documentation rebranding
The problem: Following the acquisition of a new service company, our customer approached us to help with the re-branding of their new subsidiary's operational documentation. There were more than 250 documents totaling several thousand pages, including PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets as well as Word files. Since the material was in constant use the re-branding exercise was a priority.
The solution: Many of the documents had been authored by several people and the consistency of formatting was quite poor. Our team used a series of analysis tools to classify all of them by type (viz. forms, procedures, letters, regulations) and then created one new branded template for each distinct type. Next we used these templates to format a representative sample of documents for the customer's approval and proposed that all the material be likewise completely reformatted to provide clarity and consistency throughout. Following their acceptance, we agreed a priority order for executing the work and returning the documents.
The outcome: The phased delivery of the entire suite of documents was completed within three weeks. All the documents were consistently formatted according to type and we also provided a set of user instructions on how to maintain template consistency during future edits and alterations.
Biomedical company | 18,000 prices updated across product catalog
The problem: A biomedical company urgently needed to revise the out-of-date prices of 18,000 items in their main product catalog. However, the original source files were not available and the catalog only existed in final PDF format. Uncertain how to proceed, the company asked us to provide them with an updated catalog and the means to produce future editions in-house.
The solution: During a number of conference calls we developed a complete understanding of the project including the data, the proposed changes, the print specifications of the output and the challenging timescale facing the customer. Our team experimented with conversion procedures to achieve the best results for turning these particular PDFs into an editable format. Next they developed some code to tag every item in the catalog with an identity that could be matched to the corresponding pricing data held in an Excel spreadsheet. The entire catalog was processed in batches of 200 pages and presented to the customer for review. Finally the batches were combined, sent to the printer and published.
The outcome: The revised catalog was available on time and with the correct pricing information. Some months later the customer embarked on a different project with another catalog and once again commissioned us to apply the same techniques so they could have confidence in the accurate and repeatable matching of items and prices in their new catalog.
We're ready when you are
If you have a document-related problem that does not fit neatly into a standard service, we would be happy to talk it through. Send us what you have and a brief outline of the challenge, and we will advise on the most sensible way forward.